Spring cover and method of applying same



w. F. Elsr-:NHAUER SPRING COVER AND METHOD OF APPLYING SAME Aug. 30,v1938.

Filed Feb. l2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 30, 1938 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE SPRING COVER AND METHOD OF APPLYING SAME MichiganApplication February 12, 1936, Serial No. 63,607

10 Claims.

This invention pertains to spring casings of the type which are used forcovering the leaf springs of vehicles.

This invention is particularly concerned with a 5 one-piece casinghaving secured thereto as an integral part a liner commonly of fabricalthough it may be of any other suitable material, the liner beinginterposed between the spring and the casing.

The usual practice in applying metallic spring casings to automobileleaf springs is, first, to straighten the spring by means of a loadingmachine, then to apply a stabilizing compound or lubricant about thespring leaves, following which a piece of canvas, called a liner, iswrapped about the leaves for the purpose of assisting in sealing thestabilizing compound within the casing as well as to prevent dirt andwater from reaching the spring. Thereafter, the spring casing isapplied, the fabric liner being between the casing and the spring.

One of the objects of my invention is to eliminate the necessity ofwrapping the fabric liner about the spring prior to the application ofthe casing. Accomplishment of this object would provide a very materialadvantage in commercial applications since the time required to installa casing would be reduced about one-third.

Another object is to reduce the amount of material used in the liner.

Another object is to provide means whereby a stabilizing or lubricatingcompound can be placed on a liner integral with a casing. the entireunit thereafter being applied to a spring and locked thereon.

Still another object is to provide an improved method of applying andretaining a stabilizing or lubricating compound about the leaves of aspring.

Other objects of my invention will become ap- 40 parent as thedescription proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings in whichFig. 1 is a perspective view of a one-piece spring casing having theliner attached as an integral part of the casing about three sides.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the casing shown in Fig. 1after it has been applied to the spring and the spring has been allowedto assume its normal position.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the casing shown in Fig. 9 with theliner extending about four sides, after being locked in position on aspring.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional View of the casing shown in Fig. 1 prior toits application to the i spring.

Fig. 8 shows a spring casing blank prior to being folded to the formshown in Fig. l. The fabric liner and end seals have been attached tothe blank.

Fig. 9 shows another construction in which the fabric liner extendsaround all four sides of the casing.

Fig. 10 is a detail showing the methodof securing the liner to thecasing.

A perspective view of my invention is seen in Fig. l wherein is shown aone-piece spring casing 2 made of metal or other bendable sheet materialcapable of being formed which consists in general of a bottom portion 4and sides 6 and 8 and a cover IIJ. It will be noted that cover IIJ,which is positioned adjacent the main leaf I I of the spring, is acontinuous member, whereas the lower channel-shaped portion, consistingof the bottom and the two sides, is separated into a plurality ofsections by the slots I2, I4 and I6 to provide the sections I8, 20, 22and 24. The slots I2, I4 and IIS extend around at least three sides ofthe spring as can be seen from an inspection of Fig. 4 which is asection on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. 90

All of the sections I8, 20, 22 and 24 are connected together, however,along the upper or fourth side of the spring by the longitudinallyextending portions 26 and 30, as shown in the several figures.

Connected with longitudinally extending portion 30 is the cover I0,having the two inwardly turned flanges 32 and 34 of which flange 32 isintegral' withv longitudinally extending portion 30. Flange 32, due toits angularity, tends to place the cover under lateral tension andserves the purpose of taking up slack when the cover is finally lockedin position with the flange 34, which is set at a complementary angle toengage ange 28, thereafter is locked with flange 28 together, as shownfor example, in Fig. 3.

The transverse slots I2, I4 and I6, which are for the purpose ofpermitting the casing to flex when it is in position on the spring, areclosed by the slot covers 36, 38 and 4I] which may be secured inposition by any suitable means. One convenient method is shown in thevarious figures whereby the ends of the slot covers are tucked under anarrow strip integral with the casing, but raised ^sufficiently abovethe surface to permit the 55 passage of the slot covers thereunder. Thisconstruction can be seen in Figs. 1, 4, 8 and 9.

After the casing has been brought to the form shown in Fig. 1, there ispositioned therein the liner 42 which may be of fabric or other suitablematerial. 'I'his liner extends substantially the length of the casingand has extending transversely at each end a strip or pad of heaviermaterial, as for example, felt as at 44 and 46. The liner, which iscapable of stretching slightly, may be positioned in the casing after itis formed as in Fig. 1 or it may be attached to the blank as in Fig. 8prior to the shaping of the casing. In most applications, it is onlynecessary that the casing extend around the lower three sides of thespring since the lubricating or stabilizing compound is not necessary onthe top of the main leaf. In such cases the liner is positioned andsecured either as in Fig. 1 or as in Fig. 8. It will be noted that theliner is fastened to the casing at its ends only by the means shown indetail in Fig. 10. By the use of a 4tool designed for the purpose, atongue of metal 48 is punched from the casing, turned upwardly andvpassed through the fabric liner and the felt seal or pad, andthereafter bent backwardly and crimped as shown in Fig. 10 to securelyaffix the liner to the casing. It will be observed that by this meansthe liner is fastened to the casing without the necessity of using anyadditional securing means, the fastening device48 being an integral partof the casing. In practice, it has been found that the liner may beadequately maintained in place by fastening it to the bottom and twosides at the large end of the casing and at the bottom alone at thesmall end of the casing, as shown in Fig. 8. The liner has sufllcientelasticityV to adapt itself to the spring clips 49 and 5I, as shown inFig. 2.

In the case where a liner covering three sides of the spring only isused, as in Figs. 1 and 8, it has been found desirable to introduce aseal as at 50'and 52, not only to prevent the escape of any compoundthat may work its way up on top of the main leaf, but also to preventtheentrance within the casing of water and dirt.

In some instances it has been found desirable to have the liner extendaround all four sides of the spring. Such a construction is shown inFig. 9, that part of the liner and seal underlying the cover I0 beingsecured by a tongue 48 as heretofore described. "I'he presence of theliner underlying the'cover I0 in no way affects the application of thecasing to the spring since the engaging and binding action of flanges 28and 34 are not interfered with, nor is the take-up action of flange 32in any way modified, as can be seen from an inspection of Fig. 6.

The application of my cover to a spring is as follows:- l

The spring is placed in a loading machine and flexed until the main leafIl is substantially straight. A stabilizing compound or other lubricantis placed by means of a brush or air gun along the bottom and two sidesof the liner positioned within the channel-.shaped portion of thecasing. The casing is then positioned on the spring, the bottom 4extending along the staggered ends of the several leaves. While holdingthe bottom 4 of the casing against the spring, the sides 6 and 8 ofsections I8, 20, 22 and 24 are pressed toward each other until flange 34has snapped over flange 28, which action takes place automaticallythereby locking the casing on the spring. The casing is thereafterpermanently sespring casing and liner which materially facil-- 'itatesthe application thereof to leaf springs,

since the stabilizing or lubricating compound may Vbe applied to theliner in the casing in advance,

the casing, liner and compound thereafter being positionedsimultaneously. The securing of the liner to the casing is cheaply andeasily effected, no additional securing means in the form of rivets orclips being necessary. In this way the material expense is notincreased. The usual practice at the present time in the application ofthe liner to the spring prior to the positioning of the casing thereonrequires that the'width of the liner be somewhat greater than thecircumference of the spring since it has been found necessary to overlapthe liner on top ofthe main leaf that it may stay in position until thecasing is v applied. On the other hand, by my construction, I am able touse lessliner material as itis entirely unnecessary that the edges ofthe liner overlap at any point throughout its length. Where the coveringof a large number of springs is involved, the saving in liner materialis substantial.

Thus, by my invention not only Ydo I provide a casing and liner whichmay be applied with great speed, but also a combination requiring theuse of less liner material.. r

It should be pointed out that the thickness of the material used in thecasing has been considerably exaggerated in the drawingsv for thepurpose of clarity. In actual practice, the combined thickness of coverI 0, flanges 28 and`34 and 'longitudinally extending portion 26 is butlittle more than the combined thickness of cover Ill, take-up flange 32and longitudinally extending portion 30 shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and'sothat when the casing is permanently positioned on a spring, the coverIll is substantially parallel to the main leaf.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, it isto be distinctly understood that the invention is to be limited only bythe appended claims.

I claim:- f

1. In combination. a one-piece spring casing comprising a plurality ofrelatively movable sections comprised of a'bottom and two sides andadapted to extend about three sides of a spring, a cover for the fourthside integrally connected to the sections, interlocking means on saidsections and cover to secure said casing in position on a spring, aone-piece liner permanently secured within said casing to the bottom andtwo sides only by means punched from the bottom and two sides of saidcasing; and sealing means at the ends of the fourth side of said casing.f

2. In combination, a Vone-piece spring casing comprising a plurality ofrelatively movable channel-shaped sections extending about three sidesof a spring, said sections integrally connected by a portion extendinglongitudinally along the fourth side of the spring, a coverl for thefourth side integrally connected with said the casing overlying thebottom and two sides only and having materially thickened sealingmembers extending the width of the liner at each end to provide a seal,separate sealing members at the ends of the cover, and means punchedfrom the casing adjacent its ends to secure the liner and respectivesealing members thereto.

3. In combination, a one-piece articulated spring casing, comprising aplurality of relatively movable channel-shaped sections and a coverintegrally attached thereto, means associated with said sections andcover to provide locking engagement, and a liner including transverselyextending pads at the ends thereof, said liner substantially coveringthe interior or bottom and two sides only of said channel sections, andindependent transversely extending pads at the ends of said cover, andmeans integral with said casing extending through said liner jandindependent pads respectively and securing them to said casing.

4. A blank adapted to be formed into a lined spring cover comprising agenerally trapezoidal blank of bendable material transver-sely slottedto provide a plurality of sections, a marginal unslotted portionintegral with said sections to provide a cover, and a linersubstantially overlying said sections only, said blank and linerpermanently connected at their ends by means integral with said blank.

5. In combination, a four-sided one-piece spring casing having spaced,movable sections and a liner extending substantially the length of thecasing and overlying three sides only, said casing having prongsintegral therewith and penetrating said liner and attaching said casingand liner to each other at their ends only.

6. In combination, a leaf spring and a casing thereon, said casingcomprising a one-piece spring casing having spaced, movable sectionsexten-ding about three sides of said spring, members covering the spacesbetween said sections, a cover integral with one side of each of saidsections and connected with the other side of said sections, a linerbetween said spring and the three sides of said casing extendingsubstantially the length of the casing, said liner and casing securedtogether at the ends of each of the three sides only by means integralwith said casing.

7. A one-piece spring casing comprising articulated sections adapted tocover three sides of a spring, a cover for the fourth side integral withand adapted to lock to said sections, a liner substantially the lengthof said casing and of a variable width substantially three-quarters ofthe circumference of the spring at any section, said liner positionedwithin said casing and secured thereto at its ends only by meansintegral with the end sections whereby it overlies the bottom and twosides of the spring.

8. A one-piece spring casing comprising a series of channel-shapedsections movable with respect to each other and adapted to encompassthree sides of a leaf spring, said sections connected by means extendingcontinually longitudinally along the fourth side, members overlying thespaces between said sections and connected to said longitudinallyextending means, a cover for the fourth side integrally connected withsaid longitudinally extending means, means for sealing said cover on aspring, an interiorly positioned liner substantially covering saidsections only and extending over the spaces between` the movablesections, said liner attached at its ends to said sections only by meansintegral therewith.

9. A spring casing comprising a sheet shaped for enclosing at leastthree sides of a spring and transversely slotted at intervals betweenits ends, each slot terminating at each end short of the side edges ofthe sheet, a separate cover band for each slot, each b-and beingindependent of each other, means for retaining each band individually inposition, means engaging with said sheet for closing the fourth side ofthe spring, and a liner extending substantially the length of the casingand overlying the slotte-d walls only, said casing and liner attached toeach other at their ends only.

10. A one-piece spring casing comprising spaced sections engaging threesides of a spring, a cover for the fourth side integrally connected withsaid sections by a slack take-up device, said sections also integrallyconnected with a reversely turned flange on said fourth side, acomplementary iange on said cover to engage said reversely turnedflange, said flanges arranged to engage each other and said take-updevice arranged to draw said sections closer about said spring when saidcover is moved towards said spring, and a liner extending substantiallythe length of the casing, said casing and liner attached to each otherat their ends only, and said liner covering three sides of the casingonly whereby the fourth side, at which said slack take-up device isdisposed, is free from interference by said liner.

WARREN F. EISENHAUER.

